Date	Tuesday, 06 May 2014
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 1:0 Hibernian
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,850
Referee	John Beaton
Comments	Match Report Report by Roddie McVake for the BBC. Premiership Bottom Six Ross County 1 Hibernian 0 Ross County secured their Premiership safety after Richard Brittain's penalty gave the Dingwall side victory over Hibernian. The midfielder crashed the ball beyond Ben Williams after Jordan Slew had been brought down by Scott Robertson. County had the best chances with Yoann Arquin and Jordan Slew going close. The Dingwall men now cannot finish in the relegation play-off spot but Hibs, who face Kilmarnock at home on Saturday, remain in danger. And with Killie and Partick Thistle playing on Wednesday evening, Hibs may go into the final weekend in the dreaded 11th place. County started in nervy fashion and were guilty of a string of slack passes as the visitors dominated possession. Jason Cummings had the first sight of goal after a fine through-ball from Danny Handling, but the Hibs hitman's effort from just inside the box was well saved by Mark Brown. That was the only flurry of excitement in the final third in the opening exchanges, but the home side finally threatened after 20 minutes. A corner kick was flicked on by Yann Songo'o but, after it fell to the feet of Arquin, Liam Craig slid in to block his effort. County almost hit the front when Brittain's free-kick from the right was superbly headed on by Arquin, only for the ball to bounce back off the post. That sparked a response from Hibs and Craig had a glorious chance to open the scoring from a corner, but he could not direct his six-yard header on target. The hosts had the first chance of the second half when Filip Kiss fed Melvin de Leeuw down the left and he hung up a delightful back-post delivery for Brittain, whose header was well saved by Ben Williams. Rocco Quinn came on for Stuart Kettlewell before the hour as Staggies boss Derek Adams signalled his intent to push for the opener. And a few minutes later County got it from the penalty spot. De Leeuw and Arquin linked up superbly down the left and when the ball was fired into the centre, Slew was downed by Robertson. Brittain took the responsibility and made no mistake, drilling the ball into the corner of the net with Williams well beaten. Slew then had the chance to double the hosts' lead but after some great work to get himself free in the box he was unable to beat Williams. James Collins came on for Handling as Hibs stepped up their bid for a leveller, but it was County who looked the more dangerous. Slew then fired a left-foot effort over the bar after bursting into the box following a fine through-ball from Alex Cooper. Hibs almost made County pay for that miss but Cummings nodded just wide of target. The visitors applied some late pressure and Collins went close with a header, but they could not muster an equaliser and their Premiership fate will now be determined when Kilmarnock visit Easter Road. Derek Adams hailed Ross County's achievement of securing a third successive season in Scotland's top flight after the win over Hibernian. The victory, secured by Richard Brittain's second-half penalty, means County cannot finish in the relegation play-off spot. "To do this again, it's hard work," Adams told BBC Scotland. "It's testimony to everybody that's been with me. I'm just delighted for everybody associated with the club." County finished in the top six last season after winning promotion the season before. And though they struggled in the first half of the current campaign, improvements since the New Year gradually garnered enough points for safety. "This means a lot to the players, the football club and the supporters," added Adams. "It's a great night - the second season that we've been able to stay in this Premiership and it's been magnificent. "It's a small football club. We're a wee village team and we've got a population of 5,500. "People at this club have tried before to get to the Premiership, people have tried many times with more money than I've ever had and they haven't been able to do it. "We've been able to stay in this Premiership with limited resources. "Over a season, you stay in the league because of a season's work, not a night's work. This football club has moved on and I'm delighted for it because we've come a long way in a short space of time. "All that mattered [against Hibs] was the victory. At this stage in the season, it was about grit and determination. We got the goal, we got the penalty and I thought our players were resolute in the end. "They stuck to their task. We could've scored more. Hibs pushed us back in the end."
Ross County
Manager	Derek Adams
Starting 11	1: Mark Brown, 2: Erik Cikos, 3: Benjamin Gordon, 4: Stuart Kettlewell, 5: Scott Boyd, 7: Filip Kiss 1, 8: Richard Brittain 1 (1 pen), 11: Melvin De Leeuw, 25: Jordan Slew, 27: Yoann Arquin 1, 28: Yann Songo'o
Bench	20: Michael Fraser, 10: Rocco Quinn, 14: Darren Maatsen, 16: Alex Cooper, 21: Brian McLean, 23: Graham Carey, 26: Evangelos Oikonomou
Hibernian
Manager	Terry Butcher
Starting 11	Ben Williams, Alan Maybury, Ryan McGivern, Jordon Forster, Lewis Stevenson, Alex Harris, Scott Robertson 1, Sam Stanton, Liam Craig, Jason Cummings, Daniel Handling
Bench	Sean Murdoch, Duncan Watmore, James Collins, James McPake, Danny Haynes, Paul Cairney, Owain Tudor-Jones